Tobacco pipe



Oct. 11, 1955 RYDER 2,720,205

TOBACCO PIPE Filed April 24, 1950 4; g y A fnven $01" 44 an 46 F 48 6 Herman Ryder 45 47 49 8- United States Patent TOBACCO PIPE HermanIRyder, Tacoma, Wash. Application April 24, 1950, Serial No. 157,825 1* Claims. (Cl. 131-194) This invention relatesto tobacco pipes.

, It is a familiar fact to. smokers. thatthe performance of conventional tobacco pipes is-marred by the presence of one. or more of several. disadvantageous features. One of the Inostimportantlof these. is the necessityof cleaning the pipe frequently to remove accumulated tarry materials, moisture, tobacco particles and the like. Another is the failure. oft the pipe to remove these materials completely from the-smoke. Hence they are transmitted to the mouthofthe. smoker where: they are common causes of tongue bite,;irritated mouth, nausea,.and stained teeth. Furthermore,.when they drainfrom the pipe they soil the hands and. stain. the clothing.

Another commonly encountered. failing ofconventional pipes isthein failure to. cooLthe smoke sufficiently to avoid oral discomfort. Still another, is the accumulation of malodorous materials within the pipe,.particularly in the cake and shank or smoke channel. Still another is their tendency to accumulate moisture within the bowl after repeated smoking. Other important disadvantages are the failure. of the conventional pipes to draw freely without plugging up, to burn continuously, this necessitating frequentlighting, and to burn completely, this resulting in the formation of a wet heel which interferes with the proper. operation of the pipe and also results in the waste of. tobacco. In addition, many of the conventional pipes are. very fragile and improperly balanced.

his a primary object of the present invention .toprovide a tobacco pipe in which all of the foregoing disadvantageous features ofconventional pipes are minimized or elimi nated" completely.

.Itisanother object of the present invention to provide a tobaccopipe which is self-cleaning;

It is another object of the present invention toprovide a tobacco pipe wherein means are provided for draining themoisture from the heel into an absorption chamber so that .the tobacco may burn more completely.

Itis' another object of the present invention to provide a tobacco pipe wherein meansare provided for cooling the heel; and the smoke to a comfortable temperature while condensing from the smoke itsnormally liquid constituents.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide: a tobacco pipe whereinimeans are provided for absorbing the condensed moisture,,acrid'and irritant tars and the like so that they will not enter the mouth of the smoker or drain from the pipe onto his hands or clothing, even when the pipe bowl is raised or placed in an inclined position.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a tobacco pipe wherein moisture or saliva from the smokers mouth cannot drain through the mouthpiece and reach the tobacco in the pipe bowl, thereby interfering with the proper functioning of the pipe.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the following specification and claim considered together with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation, partly in section, of the tobacco pipe of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectionalview in elevation taken alongthe lines 2 2 of Figures 1 and 3;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the pipe of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in elevation, partly .in section, of a condensing chamber and absorber suitable for use in the pipe of this invention;

Figure 5 is a detail, fragmentary, plan view of the condensing chamber of Figure 4 illustrating the radiator means thereon;

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation of an alternate con-. struction for an absorbing elementwhich may be employed in the presently described pipe;

Figures 7 and 8 are detailviewsillustrating analternate construction for a condensing chamber with associated radiator which may be employed in the presently described tobacco pipe, Figure 7 being a view in frontelevation and Figure 8 being a fragmentary plan view, partly in section; and

Figures 9, 10,. and 11 are fragmentaryplan views of condensingchambers of alternate construction which may be employed inthe presently describedtobacco pipe.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings:

The presently described tobacco pipe comprises a bowl 20 having attached thereto a stem portion or smokechannel comprising the shank 22 and amouthpiece 24. Within the shank and communicating with the mouthpiece is a condensing chamber 25. This is fabricated from a heat conducting material such as stainless steel, and extends within the interior of the bowl, forming'a bottom surface thereof. On the'upper surface of the condensing chamber are a plurality of draftand drain ports 26. In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, these ports26 are in the formof elongatedspaced openings having lower edges which-are downwardly arcuateto conform to the'tapered interior of the bowl. These direct thefiow of air and smoke through the bowl in such a manner that the combustion tends to occur along the sides andthe bottom thereof. 1

Associated with the. chamber 25, preferably by bein formed integrally therewith, is radiator means for effectingv its cooling and thus making possible the cooling of the smoke as it passes through the chamber to a point at which the normally liquidconstituentsthereof are changed from vapor to the liquid state. The radiator means'comprises a longitudinal extension. 3ll-onthe'exterior of the chamber extending forwardly of the front side wall of the bowls Itis formed of a conducting material and-prefer ably is provided with heat-radiating fins 32.

The fins 32 preferably are arranged vertically to provide therebetween vertical air spaces which. promote the formation of convection currents whereby the heat fromthe condensing chamber and heelis rapidly transferred'to the external atmosphere.

To improve the efliciency of the condensing operation within the chamber 25, there are provided guide means for directing the smoke flow through a tortuous passageway'or channel which increases the effective coolingsurface of the chamber. As shown in Figure 4, there may be placed within the condensing chamber a spirally wound core member 35 which defines a spiral channel of substantial length through which the smoke must pass. As a result, the smoke comes into prolonged contact with the walls of the chamber and the efiiciency of the condensing operation is increased correspondingly. As will be developed more fully hereinbelow, however, other types of guideways than the spiral guide of Figure 4 may be employed for this purpose.

Means also are provided for absorbing the condensed liquids as they accumulate within the chamber 25. As is illustrated, such means preferably are combined with the guide means so that a single core member will serve both functions. Thus the guide member 35 may be fabricated from a pipe cleaner or other absorbent material wound in a spiral. In a preferred embodiment, the member 35 is made from a single length of a pipe cleaner or similar object bent back upon itself to form two sections. One of these 36 is retained in an undeformed condition and serves as an axial support. The other section 37 then is wrapped around the first section in a spiral pattern, the dimensions of the core being such that the spirally wound section is in contact with the inner wall of the condensing chamber, thus defining the desired spiral passageway.

In addition, it is preferred to provide the core member 35 with cleaning means such as an annular shoulder 38. This is stationed forwardly (with reference to the mouthpiece 24) of the draft ports 26 and is dimensioned to be in tight contact with the inner wall and outer end surfaces of the chamber 25. It thus is stationed adjacent the drain port and against the inner wall of the radiator 30 where the greatest accumulation of tarry condensate occurs.

The core member 35 is adapted to be made of inexpensive material and hence to be expendable. Its length is such that it projects a short distance beyond the inner end of chamber 25. Therefore, when mouthpiece 24, which is attached to the shank 22 through the conventional friction fit, is removed from the latter, the rear end of the core member may be grasped and the core member either reciprocated a time or two to clean the bore of the condensing chamber or removed therefrom entirely and discarded.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated an alternate construction for the smoke guiding and condensate absorbing core 35. It comprises the spirally wound member 39 which is fabricated from an-absorbent material such as a pipe cleaner wound in spiral form, the dimensions of the spiral being such as to fit snugly within the condensing chamber. It thus guides the smoke in a devious passageway while, at the same time, absorbing condensed liquids. It is provided with the annular shoulder 40 which corresponds to the shoulder 38 of the previously described construction and serves to absorb the heel drainings, to clean the space forwardly of the drain and draft ports, and to wipe off these ports as the core member is moved back and forth in the chamber or withdrawn therefrom.

In Figure 8 there is illustrated a condensing chamber 41 having substantially crescent shaped slots 42. These correspond in position to draft and drain ports 26 of Figures 1 to 4, being downwardly arcuate and coinciding with the curvature of the pipe bowl. In addition, however,

they are provided with enlarged end portions which increase the effective side draft and promote correspondingly the efficient combustion of tobacco within the pipe. Furthermore, the embodiment of Figures 7 and 8 is pro vided with radiating means corresponding to the radiating means 30 of the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, but provided with heat dissipating fins comprising a plurality of concentric circular fins 43. These serve a function similar to that of the fins 32 of the previously described embodiment.

Figures 9, 10 and 11 illustrate alternate constructions for the draft and drain ports 26 of Figure 1 and 42 of Figure 8. All of these share the common characteristics of the previously described embodiments of being multiple in number and dimensioned for creating strong side drafts within the bowl and being positioned to intercept the plane of the interior surface of the bowl for transmitting the heel drainings to the absorption chamber.

Thus in Figure 9, there is illustrated an absorption chamber 44 having in the upper surface thereof immediately below the bowl a plurality of spaced apart, substantially parallel slots 45 arranged longitudinally of the absorption chamber. In the embodiment of Figure 10, an absorption chamber 46 is illustrated having in the upper surface thereof immediately below the bowl a plurality of spaced apart slots 47 disposed transversely of the absorption chamber. In the embodiment of Figure 11, there is an absorption chamber 48 having in the upper surface thereof below the bowl of the pipe a plurality of spaced, substantially circular openings 49 which may be arranged in a circle to give the desired effect.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herewith shown and described are to'be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention'or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A tobacco pipe comprising a stem, a bowl attached to the stem, a condensing chamber within the stem and communicating through draft ports with the bowl, and heat radiating means joined in heat exchange relationship to the condensing chamber, the heat radiating means comprising a plurality of spaced apart projections extending outwardly from the condensing chamber with their free end surfaces substantially flush with the adjacent outer surface of the pipe bowl, whereby to impart linear continuity to said surface.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,186 Lewis Apr. 11, 1893 606,716 Hausman July 5, 1898 1,757,997 Nicholls June 24, 1930 1,881,793 Mariani Oct. 11, 1932 1,897,535 Singletary Feb. 14, 1933 1,951,665 Longrie Mar. 20, 1934 1,985,365 Dexter Dec. 25, 1934 2,015,781 Bowles Oct. 1, 1935 2,040,704 Modine May 12, 1936 2,131,582 Chmura Sept. 27, 1938 2,158,301 Page May 16, 1939 2,170,430 Schnaier Aug. 22, 1939 2,228,556 Bunnell Jan. 14, 1941 2,252,880 Carlburg Aug. 19, 1941 2,300,800 Owen Nov. 3, 1942 2,366,215 Richards Jan. 2, 1945 2,631,591 Mariani Mar. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,682 Great Britain 1904 25,431 Great Britain 1911 116,633 Switzerland Sept. 1, 1926 244,622 Great Britain Dec. 24, 1925 889,161 France Sept. 12, 1943 

